Published 9:26 am, Friday, August 17, 2012

Midland County sheriff’s deputies responded to more than 30 calls of loud music on the first night of a first-time music festival.

The StereoTerra Music Festival began Thursday and is scheduled to end on Sunday. The event, at 6000 S. M-30 in Edenville, on a parcel of land bridging both Midland and Gladwin counties, features live music all weekend and numerous other activities including games, art displays, camping and more.

By 11:55 p.m. Thursday, about 30 complaints had been made from a widespread area, including South Middle Road, East Lakeshore Drive, Sand Ridge Drive, Grouse Court, Island Drive, West Mayfly Drive, Twin Lake Road, Bruce Road and Hayes Road.

Media log entries state deputies responding to the calls have been referring the residents to the Edenville Township supervisor to file a noise ordinance violation.

Neighbors contacted the Daily News just before press time, including one who lives two miles away and said the noise from the concert was causing his home to vibrate. That neighbor later declined to give his name, but said the problem is the bass, which kept him awake until 2 a.m. when the music was shut down for the night.

Edenville Township Supervisor Bob Johnson reiterated this morning that the event organizer, Aaron Mohr, obtained the proper permits from the township’s planning commission. He also pointed out the township’s noise ordinance is designed for problems with noise from barking dogs or other longer-term neighborhood issues, rather than weekend events.

The multitude of complaints also pose another difficulty, Johnson believes.

“Noise is subjective to the individual,” Johnson said.

Johnson has kept close tabs on the situation, and said he was at the festival site at 2 p.m. Thursday and was able to have a conversation in his normal voice while standing 100 feet in front of the speakers. He also spent some time at the nearby post office with deputies. “I didn’t happen to think it was that bad,” he said, acknowledging the noise might be different for lake residents.

Sheriff Jerry Nielsen said deputies did ask Mohr to turn down the music, and it was turned down to 60 percent at 11 p.m. “He’s heard of the complaints,” Nielsen said of Mohr. “He wants to make this work.” The first day of the concert attracted 2,600 attendees, and 4,000 are expected to attend today. The Daily News made brief contact with Mohr by telephone but the connection was dropped and could not be established again.

Nielsen said Mohr told him the volume would be turned down to 30 percent tonight.

“As far as the noise is concerned, we have no jurisdiction,” Nielsen said. He added deputies investigated, listed to determine how intrusive the music was, and asked Mohr to turn it down. “And they did,” he said.

The appropriate next step is to contact the township for prosecution, Nielsen said. The maximum penalty for a noise ordinance is a fine of not less than $25 and not more than $100, up to 93 days in jail, or both.

Both the Midland County Sheriff’s Office and Gladwin County Sheriff’s Office are keeping track of noise complaints.

The festival was first to occur at property along Coolidge Road in Gladwin County, where two stages were planned, Johnson said. Music at the venue was scheduled to end at 10 p.m., but is going longer because the organizer contracted to provide a certain amount of time for each band to perform. There is only one stage at the M-30 location, making it necessary to continue the concert for longer daily to give each band its allotted time.

“I don’t know how to solve the fact that people will be up until 2 a.m.,” Johnson said. “They’re just turning in the complaints.”